Past and Present
by Gazing on the Arabesque
Summary: Third part in Nightmare of a Video Game series. Keiko gets sucked into Shadow the Hedgehog, but Black Doom sends her some place where "she can never access Shadow, no matter how hard she tries!" Will she be able to help Shadow and help him in time?
1. Sucked in Again

**Ok… Shadow the Hegehog is up! I'm warning you, this will be VERY different from the last two stories… so BEWARE!! Anyway, ENJOY!**

XX

My brother is crazy. Why? Because he thinks I'm obsessed with Sonic games, which I'm NOT. Because he thinks I'm secretly a Shadow fangirl, which I am also NOT. _And_ because he thinks I _enjoy_ playing Sonic games, which, _again_, I do NOT… the only thing I enjoy about Sonic games is getting sucked into them… which hasn't happened in about a month. As crazy as it sounds, I actually miss the chaos. I miss Dr. Eggman, Metal Sonic, and even the Biolizard. That's why I was both happy and annoyed that my brother decided to buy me Shadow the Hedgehog for Christmas.

_Flashback:_

_"Haru!" I yelled both in annoyance and surprise. "How many times have I told you that I do not like Sonic games?!"_

_"You do," he objected. "You're just in denial." I desperately wanted to say that the only thing I liked about them was getting sucked into them, but he'd never believe me._

_"Suit yourself."_

_End Flashback_

So wasn't I lucky that we decided to start Shadow the Hedgehog that one day? Lucky for me, I already beat the game at my friend's house, so I knew everything that was going to happen! Good thing when I got sucked in, right? _Wrong!_ Why? Well… we'll get to that later. I plopped down on my brother's bed as he inserted the tiny disk into the Game Cube. A red symbol appeared at the bottom right corner of the screen as the game loaded. Gunshots were heard as Shadow appeared on the screen… good old Shadow… "Keiko, start the game," Haru ordered me.

"Why?" What was more important than playing video games with his little sister?

"I need to tell everyone that you actually agreed to play with me." I sighed and shook my head (courtesy of Shadow and Eggman).

"Are you going to do that _every time_ we play a Sonic game?"

"Yes." Haru stood up to a not-so-intimidating height of five eight and walked straight out the door. "You can start the game if you want. Everyone says the first cut scene isn't that important." I picked up the controller and pressed Start. Gunshots sounded throughout the room as I skipped through the various subscreens. Finally, it was time to begin the game. You'll never guess what happened next. The screen flickered. I suddenly felt myself falling through an infinite black void. I screamed as the darkness changed to a red sky. A loud boom rang out, as if something exploded. I closed my eyes and expected pain on my butt, and it came… but I wasn't the only one that experienced it.

"Ow!" someone yelled under me.

"Ow…" I mumbled as I tried to sit up. Lying under me was a familiar black and red hedgehog. "Shadow!" He looked up at me.

"Keiko! You're back!"

"Told you I'd be back!" My entire body ached as I stood up. As soon as I was out of the way, Shadow stood up next to me. A blue blur whizzed past us.

"Come on, Grandma!" Sonic the hedgehog called as he turned around, running backward. "We have to defeat the aliens!" He suddenly noticed me. "Hey, Keiko!" I smiled and waved in response. Suddenly, what appeared to be a dark purple starfish circled Shadow.

"Shadow…" a low, ominous voice spoke. I assumed it came from the starfish. "Let us get rid of these pathetic humans."

"No way!" I grabbed the starfish, tossed it on the ground, and stomped my foot on it. Sonic gave a hoot of laughter.

"Nice!" He then ran off into the distance, homing-attacking black aliens everywhere. Shadow sighed and looked up at me.

"What should I do, Keiko?" he asked helplessly.

"Do you honestly care about the aliens or Sonic?"

"You know, that doesn't actually answer my question."

"What do you think is right?" Shadow stared at the ground in deep thought.

"I honestly don't care about Black Doom and the aliens… I want to help Sonic, but… I also want to know about my past…"

"Which do you care about more?"

"Finding about my past."

"Then let's just find the Chaos Emerald and leave."

"Thanks." He grabbed my hand and we dashed through the city. I spotted an alien torturing a poor soldier out of the corner of my eye.

"Shadow!" He skidded to a halt and eyed me seriously. "That poor soldier is getting tortured!" I pointed toward the alien and the soldier, who was almost dead. A pistol lay on the ground in front of us. Shadow picked it up, and, with perfect aim, shot the alien, killing it. I ran over to the injured soldier. "Are you ok?" I asked. He nodded weakly and attempted to stand up, but failed. "You're injured. You really shouldn't be fighting anymore." He nodded. "Is there any way for you to stay out of the battlefield?" He nodded again. "Good. Can you do that?" He nodded, and crawled behind a large rock. I wasn't sure how long it was going to protect him, but it was good enough now. I smiled and walked back to Shadow.

"What did you do that for?" he asked. "You don't even know him!"

"I'm just trying to make your life easier." Shadow gave me a blank stare.

"How exactly does that make my life easier? I had to stop running, find the soldier you were referring to, pick up a gun, and shoot an alien exactly right so that I could kill him." I sighed.

"Maybe it doesn't matter now, but, in time, it will. Trust me."

"Whatever." Shadow grabbed my hand and continued running through the streets, weaving through aliens and G.U.N. soldiers. Suddenly, we came to a case, guarded by aliens. "What's in that case?" I squinted and caught a faint green glow. Now there was one thing the aliens shouldn't have left lying around.

"A… a Chaos Emerald!" Shadow kicked the case and tried to pry it open with his bare hands, but it didn't budge.

"It won't budge! How do I open it?" This was where an element from the game came in.

"You have to defeat all the enemies… in this case, the aliens." Shadow shrugged.

"Easy enough." Apparently, he seemed to have kept the pistol, as he pulled it out again and shot each and every one of the aliens surrounding the case. As if he pulled some sort of trigger or pressed some sort of switch, the case fell open, allowing us to retrieve the Chaos Emerald. I reached out for it cautiously. Who knew what could happen? In the end, I grasped my fingers tightly around it and handed it to Shadow. I never trusted myself with Chaos Emeralds.

"One down, six to go." I broke into a run to find the next Chaos Emerald, but Shadow picked me up and continued to run… much faster, I might add. At long last, we found a deep blue Chaos Emerald. Sonic whizzed past us.

"Wait Shadow!" he called. "There's still some aliens left!" The starfish returned.

"Shadow…" it whispered. "We aren't finished… let us get rid of these pathetic humans…"

"Out of my way!" Shadow yelled as he gave Sonic a violent shove, kicked the starfish away, and grabbed the Chaos Emerald.

"Nooooo!" cried the starfish.

"Shadow!" yelled Sonic in annoyance.

"No one can tell me what to do," Shadow declared. "I do as I decide!" He grabbed my hand. "Chaos Control!" The next thing I knew, we were on solid ground. To our dismay, the starfish was waiting for us. A tall, dark alien appeared next to it. He had two crimson eyes and wore what appeared to be a priest's robe.

"You deliberately disobeyed me, Shadow," he said. I was frozen in fear, but Shadow walked right past him.

"Well I'm not here to take orders from you, either," he said flatly. I ran toward him. Black Doom really scared me.

"You still don't know your place, do you?" Black Doom chuckled darkly. "The professor has done more to your memory than I imagined." Shadow looked back in alarm.

"The professor?"

"Enough! The ramifications for your actions will be severe! Goodbye." He waved his hand, and I shut my eyes, expecting to completely black out, but nothing came. When I felt it was safe, I opened my eyes. Unfortunately for me, Black Doom was still there. "I have heard much about you… Konnoe Keiko…"

"H-How do you know my name?" I asked shakily.

"That is for me alone to know. You seem to meddle in others' affairs quite a bit… do you?" I swallowed hard. "How would you feel if I sent you somewhere where you wouldn't be able to meddle at all?" No response. "You dare not answer me?! Very well then. I shall send you to a place where you will never be able to access Shadow… no matter how hard you try!"

"Wh-what do you mean?" Black Doom didn't answer. He laughed evilly as he waved his arm again. A tingling sensation engulfed my body. I shrieked and everything went black.

XX

**Now where did Black Doom send Keiko? You have to read to find out! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	2. The ARK Fifty Years Ago?

**I bet you readers aren't happy that I ended the first chappie in a cliffhanger. This one WON'T. So ENJOY!**

XX

It felt like someone hit me really hard at the back of my head. "Oww…" I moaned. "My head…" I opened my eyes. My vision was so blurred, I could barely see. I tried to sit up to get a better view, but something pushed me back down.

"Hey!" a female voice cried out. She could have been no older than twelve. "Not so fast! You hit your head pretty hard!"

"What are you talking about? I didn't…" I trailed off. I was talking to a complete stranger. "Where am I anyway?"

"Amnesia, huh?" she asked. Who did she think I was, Shadow?!

"No! That's not it!"

"You don't have to deny it. You're on the Space Colony ARK. That's a space colony… up in space!"

"I know what the ARK is! I've been here before!"

"Really? I've never seen you here, and I've lived here all my life."

"You're crazy! The ARK's abandoned! It's been shut down for over fifty years!"

"You're the crazy one! This place has been running since before I was born! Now stop arguing with me and accept that you have amnesia!"

"I do _not_ have amnesia!" I sat up and finally saw who I had been talking to all this time: a young girl with shoulder-length blonde hair and deep blue eyes. She wore a long-sleeved blue dress and black shoes with white socks. It _couldn't_ be… "Who are you?" The girl shrugged.

"Maria Robotnik." I screamed. What was wrong with me?! Had I finally snapped and gone crazy?! Or… could Black Doom have sent me fifty years into the past? So _that's_ what he meant when he said I'd never be able to access Shadow, no matter how hard I tried! Maria ran out of the room we were in.

"Grandfather!" she yelled. "Grandfather!" How was I supposed to get back? The ARK… couldn't have time machines… could they? Or could I enter a really slow pod that would take fifty years to get back down to Earth? A bald old man with a white mustachio entered the room, followed by Maria… Gerald Robotnik… I had only seen him once before, projected on a fuzzy TV screen.

"What is your name?" he asked. "Can you remember it?" He sounded like a typical old man. His voice wavered with age, but it still radiated warmth.

"Of course!" I snapped back. "I don't have amnesia!"

"I never asked if you did or didn't have amnesia. Now tell me. What is your name?" I sighed. It was SA2 all over again. I'd act like a complete outsider from the ARK, then, when it was time to go back, they'd all find out that I was from a different world. I really hated this life.

"Konnoe Keiko."

"Keiko…" Professor Gerald pondered over my name for some time before answering. "There was a rocket that crashed upon the ARK, and you were found next to it." What rocket?

"I don't recall… ever getting in a rocket… Professor…" Gerald pondered this for a few minutes before replying.

"Yes. You do have amnesia. You may stay aboard the ARK until you regain your memory." Great. Just great. I had no way of getting back down to Earth now… There was one thing I could do though… I could try to save Maria… to make Shadow's future a lot easier… That was it! That was what I was going to do! There was only one question, though: _how?_

XX

**So Black Doom sent Keiko fifty years in the past. For those of you who are wondering how he knew about her, that will be revealed later. Yes, I know this chappie is short. The next one will be longer, I promise! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	3. Ultimate Life Form: Hedgehog or Squirrel

**Long time since I last updated. I know. I've been suffering from the dreaded writers block. Enjoy!**

XX

Maria was literally dragging me around the ARK. "And here's one of the labs!" she told me cheerfully. It all felt so weird. There were people _everywhere_. Despite the hectic research, everything seemed so peaceful… unlike the future where everything was gloomy and creepy. Not saying that I preferred it to be gloomy and creepy, of course. She pulled me into another lab. "Oh, good. No one's working here. This is my favorite room in the entire ARK. You can get the best view from Earth here." I'd been in this room before… A series of memories flooded my mind.

_Flashback:_

_"Shadow, we need you!" Amy yelled as she ran toward us. Shadow stared out the window. "Please help us!" I wanted Shadow to be labeled as a good character by helping everybody… as much as I wanted him to live._

_"It's all going according to plan," Shadow replied coolly. "There's no reason to help them. Besides, there's no way to save anyone." What was with all this sudden pessimism?_

_"There has to be!" Amy replied._

_"There is!" I shouted at him. "Didn't Maria—" Amy cut me off._

_"I know that people fight over the most trivial things," Amy continued. "Some people may be selfish like the professor said… but they're basically good. If they try their best and never give up on their wishes… they always have a reason to be happy. That's why you should help them out… saving them is a good thing!" The tears returned as the sad truth spilled out._

_"That doesn't mean you have to go, though," I whispered quietly. Amy glared at me._

_"Shadow, I beg you!" she continued. "Please do it for them. Give them a chance!" _Don't listen to her! _I desperately thought, but it was no use. Amy had triggered the memory which would convince Shadow to help out Sonic. Shadow closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again._

_"That's what I've promised her and I must keep that promise," he told Amy. "That's what Maria wished for."_

_"Shadow?" Amy mumbled in a confused way._

_"I've got to go now!" Shadow replied. "I have to keep my promise to Maria… and you…" I could have sworn I saw a look of triumph on Amy's face._

_End Flashback._

I grimaced at the painful memory. Maria eyed me worriedly. "Keiko? You ok?" I jumped.

"Huh? What? Oh ya! I'm fine!" She smiled.

"Good! Come on! Let's see what weird experiments Grandfather's working on!" I hoped he was working on a time machine… maybe it could take me back… Maria led me into another lab. A large orange lizard sat in the middle. Its legs were chained to some kind of pole. I gasped as I recognized it: the Biolizard: prototype of the Ultimate Life. Professor Gerald stood in front of it, examining it closely. "Hi Grandfather!" He turned around to face us.

"Ah, Maria," he addressed her. "And Keiko. I would like you to meet the Ultimate Life Form." Maria stared at it in awe. All I saw was the Eclipse Cannon's core and Shadow's battle with it.

_Flashback:_

_The Biolizard was huge… easily two the three miles tall. It glared at Shadow for a minute before turning its attention toward me. I tried hiding behind Shadow, but, being much shorter than the Biolizard, I was at a disadvantage. To my surprise, a goofy grin spread across its face as it scooped me up with its long tail. I screamed as the Biolizard turned on its back and was playing with me with its feet. _

_"PUT ME DOWN!!!!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! WHAT DO YOU THINK I AM, MARIA?!" I desperately looked down at Shadow. To my surprise, he was doubled over, laughing. "WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?!?!" I screamed at him. Shadow only laughed harder._

_"Actually, Keiko, it does think you're Maria!" This was just great. A research experiment was playing with me as if I was some doll and the only chance I had to escape was laughing._

_"Shadow, DO SOMETHING!!!" The Biolizard got back on its feet and was tossing me up and down with its tail. If it dared to drop me, I would personally see to it that it was decapitated. Shadow continued laughing._

_"Hold… on!" he managed to get out between laughs. He suddenly stabbed the Biolizard's tail with his nail, causing it to drop me. I screamed at the top of my lungs as I fell, only to be caught by an unnaturally strong hedgehog. "Get out of here, Keiko!" he yelled at me. "If you stay, it will take longer to defeat it! Somehow, you've managed to convince it that you're Maria!"_

_"Exactly what is his problem with Maria?"_

_"Nothing! Maria was like a toy to it! It would play with her whenever it got the chance!" The Biolizard was now frantically looking around for me._

_"I can't run, Shadow! The Biolizard will see me one way or another!" Shadow closed his eyes in thought just as I ducked out of the Biolizard's field of vision._

_"I'm sorry I have to do this Keiko, but I'll have to use you as bait."_

_"You WHAT?!" _

_"Keep it busy! I'll try to defeat it!" I sighed and went in the Biolizard's view. The goofy grin spread across its face again as it brought down its tail to pick me up. However, Shadow shoved me out of the way and grabbed the tail, taking him to the orange button on its head. Once Shadow hit it, the Biolizard started glaring at me._

_"Uh oh…" I mumbled._

_"What?"_

_"I think you convinced it that I pushed the button on its head! Now it's coming after me!"_

_"Just… just stay out of the way!" I nodded quickly as the Biolizard shot a dark energy ball at me. To my dismay, I couldn't get out of the way in time. I collided with the black energy ball. I desperately gasped for much-needed air, ignoring the waves of searing pain running through my body. The energy ball had tossed me off my feet, so I landed on my stomach. Shadow looked back in worry, but I managed to give him an assuring look. Shadow nodded as he turned to face the Biolizard. "You'll pay for that…" he whispered as he jumped on the pipe in its mouth, grinded on it to the top, and once again pressed the button. The Biolizard bellowed in agony as it started glaring at Shadow. Thankfully, I was on my feet again. The prototype gave me an apologetic look and once again picked me up with its tail, a protective look over its face. This was creeping me out._

_"Let me go!!! I'm not Maria!!!" Shadow glared at the Biolizard._

_"Let her go!!!" Pink bubbles suddenly appeared everywhere. Some of them started flying towards Shadow at high speeds. Shadow jumped from one pink bubble to the next, gaining altitude with each jump. Finally, at the top, a pink bubble collided with him just as he pressed the button on the Biolizard's head. The bubble sent him falling down just as the Biolizard involuntarily released me. I screamed as I fell. Surprisingly, Shadow and I hit the ground at around the same time. "Damn it…" I heard Shadow curse under his breath. The video game dimension really worked wonders. I had not sustained any injury from my fall. Obviously, Shadow would not be hurt. He was the Ultimate Life Form after all. The Biolizard bellowed in pain and agony as it finally fell._

_End Flashback._

The Biolizard stared at Maria and picked her up with its tail. Maria screamed as she was lifted several yards into the air. The Biolizard examined her as closely as the professor examined him. He then smiled at her, receiving an awkward smile from Maria in return. "Put her down," the professor ordered calmly. The Biolizard reluctantly brought his tail down, returning Maria to the ground. After that, I had no control over what I was doing. I absentmindedly walked toward the Biolizard and gently stroked his foot.

"Keiko?" Maria called in surprise.

"I suggest you stand back," Gerald advised me. "He's big and can cause a lot of damage." I turned back to smile at them both.

"Don't worry!" I told them. "He seems friendly enough." Maria stepped forward, much to Gerald's protest, and copied me.

"Hi Mr. Ultimate Life Form!" she greeted him. "Hmm… we need a name for him. Ultimate Life Form is too long… hmm… life… bio means life… and he looks like a lizard… how about Biolizard?"

"Sounds good to me!" The professor sighed.

"Fine. Biolizard it is then." Maria walked around it and inspected it closely. "Hmmm…"

"I'm definitely making changes to it," the professor told us. "What do you girls think?"

"Too big," Maria replied. "Hmm… maybe… oh, I know! We'll make it look all small and docile, but it's actually really strong! Small and adorable! We should also change the color. Orange looks ugly, no offense. How about… black and red?"

"Your favorite colors, I presume?" I guessed. Maria beamed at me and nodded.

"Ok… what are some… small and adorable animals?" Gerald asked awkwardly.

"Hedgehog!" Maria suggested. "Or how about a bunny or a squirrel?" I suddenly burst out laughing as I pictured Shadow as a bunny or a squirrel. He would look absolutely stupid. Maria and Gerald gave me a weird stare. "What's so funny?" I sighed.

"Oh, nothing." She shrugged it off. "I think it should be a hedgehog. It's adorable, but not too adorable. We don't want him to be underestimated by any enemies." Maria shrugged and nodded.

"Fine. A hedgehog." I smiled and pictured what could have happened if I said squirrel instead of hedgehog. Shadow… the squirrel: capable of complete destruction and world domination. It sounded hilarious, no matter how I put it.

"How big?" the professor asked.

"Three five," Maria and I replied simultaneously before breaking into a fit of giggles. The professor smiled warmly.

"I see you two will be getting along very well."

XX

**Here's a longer chapter to compensate for the long wait. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	4. Mitosis!

**Sigh… I know it's been a while since I last updated. Sorry. **

XX

I loved the ARK. I mean more than I did in SA2. I finally understood why Shadow liked Maria so much; she was like a sister to me. We did everything together, from playing with the Biolizard to watching the scientists work for hours on end. Of course, some days she had "lessons". Who knew she was homeschooled? Anyway, on those days, I was bored out of my mind. Then I'd just sit and watch the scientists work, but it wasn't nearly as fun without Maria. This was one of those days. I sat next to the Biolizard, gently stroking its tail while watching Professor Gerald work. He seemed to be tending to capsule filled with some green liquid. Inside was something dark… a hedgehog, no doubt. There was a faint groan. I looked up at the Biolizard, and there was an expression of pain was on his face. It was only now that I realized that my nail was dug deep into his flesh. "Oh… sorry…" Suddenly, the doors burst open.

"Grandfather! Grandfather!" Maria came running into the lab. "I need help with my science!" The professor sighed.

"Sorry Maria. Not now." He then turned to me. "Keiko, can you help her?" I shrugged.

"Sure…" I followed Maria to another room, where a large textbook and a stack of papers lay on a desk.

"Ok," Maria started. "I need help on the phases of mitosis." Oh no. Not _mitosis_!

_Flashback:_

_My biology teacher pulled out a stack of papers. The top three scores are 100, Chika, 98, Shoko, and 95…" I listened intently for my name, but it never came. The 95 belonged to some random boy. That was weird… maybe the teacher made a mistake… I never got below a 90… He walked to each of the desks and passed back the tests. When he came to me, he made a tsking noise. I stared at the test in horror. I had gotten every question wrong._

_End Flashback._

I shuddered as I remembered the painful memory. My first failed test in biology… was on the phases of mitosis… the thing for which Maria needed my help… "Keiko?"

"Huh?" My voiced sounded all high-pitched and squeaky. "Ok…" I tried to make my voice sound confident, but it sounded weak, even in my own ears. "What do you need help on?"

"I can't seem to tell the difference between anaphase and telophase."

"Um…" I racked my brain for the phases of mitosis… Ok… first was interphase… wait… was interphase even a phase? Well, after interphase came… prophase or metaphase? Um… I think it was prophase… then metaphase… then anaphase… then telophase… then… what was the last part? It didn't end in "phase" did it? What was it? "Anaphase is the third phase and telophase is the fourth?" Maria sighed.

"Yes… _besides_ that."

"Um…" How did mitosis go again? Interphase was the resting phase… then prophase had something to do with the nucleus and the chromosomes… well every stage in mitosis had to do with the chromosomes. Oh yeah! The nuclear membrane disappeared in prophase! Then the cage thingy formed! Then in metaphase… the chromosomes lined up in the middle. That was the only part I was sure of. Then anaphase… the chromosomes split? No, not the chromosomes. The _centromere_ split, causing the chromosomes to separate and move… to the ends? Yeah, that was it. Then in telophase… they reach the edges… and what happens after that?

"Do you even know mitosis, Keiko?" How embarrassing.

"Of course! Um… my brain's just a little fuzzy." Maria didn't seem convinced. "Can I see your textbook?" She shrugged and handed it to me. I flipped through the pages, desperate to find mitosis. "Aha!" I exclaimed. "I was right! Interphase _isn't_ a phase!" Maria gave me a blank stare.

"And? What about anaphase and telophase?" I looked down at the textbook.

"Anaphase… is when the centromere splits… 'The sister chromatids migrate to opposite poles.'" What the heck? Since when did chromosomes become sister chromatids? "Then… in telophase… 'In animal cells, the plasma membrane pinches begins to pinch in. In plant cells, the cell plate begins to form.' Then in the last part—"

"Cytokinesis," Maria reminded me.

"In cytokinesis, two identical daughter cells form. Get it?"

"Yeah… thanks!" Maria coughed.

"You ok?"

"Yeah…" her voice cracked, and she coughed again.

"Maria?" Her face slowly grew red as the coughing grew worse. She began gasping for air.

"Can't… breathe…" My eyes widened in shock.

"Hang on! Let me get the professor!" I broke into a sprint. "Professor Gerald! PROFFESOR GERALD!" I saw him in the lab, still tending to Shadow.

"What is it, Keiko?"

"It's Maria! She just started coughing and then she told me she couldn't breathe!" The professor stopped his work and turned around to face me.

"Keiko, get the doctor! Now!" I nodded hurriedly and ran in desperate search for the doctor.

XX

**Basically, the last part of the chapter was the only part that matters in this fic. The rest is all filler. Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	5. NIDS

**Heh heh… I left you at a cliffhanger in the last chappie. This one will be short, so be warned! Now enjoy!**

XX

Maria lay sleeping on a white bed. The white blanket was wrapped tightly around her and pulled all the way up to her nose. Thankfully, I managed to get the doctor in time. He somehow managed to get Maria to swallow some pills, and then she was out like a light.

_Flashback:_

_I ran through each of the rooms, screaming at the top of my lungs. "WHERE'S THE DOCTOR! I NEED THE DOCTOR NOW!! WHERE IS HE?!" I ran through a couple of rooms. The scientists working there just gave me weird looks. I lowered my voice. "Have any of you seen the doctor?" They all slowly shook their heads. I broke into a spring and continued yelling. "WHERE'S THE DOCTOR! THE PROFESSOR NEEDS HIM NOW!!" But there were lots of professors in this place. I rephrased my last statement. "PROFESSOR GERALD NEEDS HIM NOW! WHERE'S THE—"_

_"You don't have to yell." I looked up at an old man in a lab coat. "I'm right here. What is it?"_

_"It's Maria… she's…" I couldn't bring myself to say it, but he managed to understand what I was trying to say. He stared at the floor in sadness._

_"Oh… I see… Poor girl…" We ran back to the room with the professor. Maria had collapsed onto her knees, and was currently struggling to breathe. The doctor pulled some white pills out of his pocket and rushed over. He gently tilted her head back and placed the pills in her mouth. Professor Gerald then opened a water bottle and poured some water into her mouth. Maria probably managed to swallow the pill because her eyes slowly closed and she lay limp in the professor's arms._

_End Flashback._

I finally understood the pain of losing… or almost losing… Maria. I finally understood how Shadow felt… how much pain he was going through… "Professor? Will she be ok?" The professor nodded, his head bent low.

"She'll be fine, Keiko… she just forgot to take her pill, that's all…" I gave an involuntary shudder.

"Does this always happen when she forgets to take her pill?" The professor nodded sadly.

"She takes her pill every day… but sometimes… she forgets… and this happens…" I stared sadly at Maria. So many people loved her. So many people held her in high regard. And yet she had to nearly choke to death whenever she forgot to take her pill. We sat in silence and watched Maria sleep. She mumbled something incoherent and turned on her side. "She had N.I.D.S.," the professor said, breaking the silence. "Poor thing was only two when she was diagnosed with it… There's no cure… she'll be fine as long as she doesn't get sick… the common cold could kill her easily… The doctors suggested that she be moved to a confined space, so she ended up moving here with me. The disease grew worse… and the doctor put her on these pills that would literally keep her alive… She's been like this ever since."

"That's so sad…" I found myself saying. The professor sighed.

"I know… Maria means the world to me… I couldn't bear to lose her… I don't know what I'd do if I did…"

"I know…" I knew exactly what he'd do _when_ and _if_ she died. He'd still find the humans on Earth to blame, even if Maria didn't die by GUN's hand. Maria began to snore lightly. I couldn't help smiling a little.

"She's the reason I even took up Project Shadow… maybe… just maybe… the secret to immortality could work as a cure for her…" Shadow…

"When will Shadow be done?"

"I'm almost done… just a few more adjustments…" My hand balled into a fist. _I promise Shadow, I'll save her. I'll make sure she stays alive for you!_

XX

**Short chappie, I know. PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	6. The Ultimate Life Form and Soap

**Oy… I haven't updated this in four months!! Here's what happened. First, I had a MAJOR case of writer's block, and then I lost inspiration. I had to reread ALL the previous stories in addition to this one to get inspired again. So ya… ENJOY YOUR LONG-AWAITED CHAPTER!!**

XX

"Keiko!!" Maria called as she ran forward and I struggled to keep up. "Hurry up you slowpoke!" She ran forward.

"Maria, be careful!" I heard myself involuntarily yell at her.

"Jeez, Keiko, I choke once and you start acting like my grandfather!"

"You could have died!" She waved her hand dismissively.

"It happens all the time."

"How can you say that?! Are you blind?! Can't you see that your grandfather's doing everything he can just to keep you alive?!"

"I KNOW!" she snapped at me. Maria sighed and stared sadly at the floor. "You think I don't know this? I know just as well as anyone. I just don't like talking or thinking about it…" I felt bad for lecturing her like this. She was already going through so much… To my surprise, she smiled. "Let's not talk about it anymore, ok? I just like looking at life as a happy and precious thing… I hate it how so many people take it for granted…" I felt a pang of guilt. Up until now, I waltzed through life as if it was some sort of dream… People like Maria had to take as much of it as they could for themselves and treasure it. My stomach turned as I went over each individual time I could have died over the course of the past three months. Almost drowning twice, almost falling to my death… and I would just brag about being in a near death experience… Looks like I _had _taken my life for granted. "Keiko…?"

"Huh? What?" Maria completely snapped me out of my thoughts. She sighed in exasperation. "Jeez that's the tenth time you've done that since you got here!" I tilted my head to the side.

"Done what?"

"You know… completely spaced out?" I crossed my arms and frowned at her.

"Oh, come on! It's not like you've never done it before!" Maria smirked.

"Not as much as you." I couldn't help smiling at that. Suddenly, Professor Gerald walked in.

"Maria… ah Keiko, you're here too. Excellent. I have just completed Project Shadow." Maria squealed in excitement as she bounced eagerly on her toes.

"You have?"

"There will be a few minor adjustments, of course, but you may see him if you wish."

"Yay!" We followed the professor over to the lab with the Biolizard. A familiar black and red hedgehog glared at us.

"More humans?!" he growled. "Damn you to hell! Die!!" He attempted to charge at us, and Maria jumped back in surprise, but Gerald was ready. He grabbed Shadow's arm before he could come anywhere near us. He continued to glare at us. "I'll f—king kill you humans!" My eyes widened in fake shock.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed before smirking. "Someone needs to censor your mouth!"

"SHUT UP YOU BI—"

"I don't think so!" Maria chirped as she covered his mouth with her hand. She giggled as Shadow struggled within her grasp. As soon as she released him, his glare was more intense than before.

"F—k you," he whispered in a dangerously low tone. I continued to smirk as I grabbed Shadow's arm and led him over to a bathroom.

"Head in the sink," I ordered him. "Now."

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"YES!" Maria broke up the argument by grabbing the back of Shadow's head and shoving him into the sink. I grabbed the bar of soap and scrubbed his mouth vigorously with it. He didn't seem to like it, as he elbowed me in the stomach, literally threw off Maria, and ran away.

"Oww…" I groaned in pain. "You ok?" Maria nodded weakly. "Did you take your pills today?"

"You asked me that like five times! Yes, I took my pills!" I sighed in relief.

"Ok… good…" For who knows how long, the two of us sat there in silence, not wanting to get up or go anywhere. Honestly… it felt kind of nice…

XX

**I couldn't help laughing while writing the Shadow scene. We all know he has a dirty mouth, but someone had to exercise SOME control over it, so the game could STILL be rated E 10, right? So here's my explanation to that. PLEASE REVIEW!! IF YOU DON'T, THERE WILL BE A LONG UPDATE!!**


	7. Dr Ivo Eggman Robotnik

**Yay! Another quick update… well quick compared to my last break! PLEASE REVIEW!!**

XX

Shadow was officially pissed off at Maria and me… Well why wouldn't he be? Maria _did_ shove his head into a sink and I _did_ scrub his mouth with soap… well, for the time being, Professor Gerald had confined him to a pod, seeing as he made several attempts to kill us.

Flashback:

_Maria asked me again to help her with her biology, but this time I knew everything. Too bad biology was Maria's worst subject. "Nooo!!" I cried. "Type A blood can't mix with type B blood! They'll clump together!! You'll die if you do that!!" Maria just scratched her head sheepishly. _

_"I still don't get it…" I groaned and buried my face in her textbook. As I desperately racked my brain for a way to explain blood types to Maria so that she would understand, I heard someone scream._

_"KEIKO WATCH OUT!!!"_

_"Huh?" Before I had time to react, Maria gave my arm a violent tug. There was a loud noise as a large anvil crashed through the metal bench Maria and I were sitting on. My eyes widened in horror at what could have been me. _

"_Damn it…" I heard someone whisper. I looked up and saw a black hedgehog moving in the shadows. Maria and I decided to move someplace else to study._

_Later…_

_Maria groaned in boredom. "Biology's so boring! Chemistry and physics are way better!" I sighed. I _hated_ chemistry and physics. Well, we had to disagree on something. Suddenly…_

_"ARGH!!!" Both of us screamed simultaneously as Shadow grabbed us by our throats. _

_"Shadow…" I choked. "Put… us… down…!" _

_"Hahahaha…" Shadow laughed evilly. Maria lifted her heavy biology textbook into the air._

_"Hi-YAH!!" She slammed the brick-like book into his head with as much strength she could muster. The blow promptly knocked him out and he was forced to release us._

_End Flashback._

So Shadow was confined to a pod, where he slept (hopefully) peacefully. "My apologies," Professor Gerald told us. "Shadow is wild and uncontrolled. We will do what we can to discipline him."

"Good," Maria and I said simultaneously. "Someone better censor his mouth," Maria told him.

"He needs to stop trying to kill us," I added.

"Ah yes, of course," Gerald replied. "Until then, I would like you both to try and stay out of his way. I still don't know what else he may do." He turned to leave. "Oh, by the way Maria, Ivo is here." Ivo? Where have I heard that name before? Maria clapped her hands together happily.

"Yay! I haven't seen him in _ages_!" Gerald chuckled.

"He's in the third lab."

"Ok! Let's go Keiko!" And with that, Maria broke into a sprint, pulling me behind with her.

"Um…" I mumbled. "Who's Ivo?"

"Ivo's my cousin," she replied. "He's six. He's really nice, but just don't say anything about how he looks."

"Um… ok…" She led me into a lab.

"Maria!" I heard a little kid's voice say. I saw the source of the voice running towards us, a kid with no hair and an egg-shaped body. It _couldn't_ be…

"Ivo!" Maria wrapped her arms around the egg-shaped kid as she hugged him. "Keiko, this is my cousin Ivo. Ivo, this is my friend Keiko."

"Hi Keiko!" he greeted cheerfully. I swallowed hard.

"Um… hi Dr. Egg—"

"Don't call him that!" Maria growled at me. She threw me a death glare scarier than Shadow, Knuckles, and Rouge's put together. "It's not his fault he's shaped like an egg!"

"Um… sorry… Ivo…" Maria's expression relaxed as she stopped glaring at me.

"Ivo, why don't you go look at Grandpa's inventions?" she asked sweetly. "I'll only be a minute."

"Ok!" Ivo hobbled away as Maria continued to glare at me.

"Do you _have_ to call him that?" she asked.

"S-sorry…"

"He can't help it if he looks that way!!"

"I know… sorry…" I didn't bother mentioning how his name would soon become Dr. Eggman, and I was used to calling him that.

"You know what happened?" I didn't respond. Maria grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me violently. "_Do you even know what happened?!?!_"

"N-no…" Maria sighed, as if trying to calm herself down.

"His mom, my aunt, used to work here at the ARK. She was always dedicated to her work. She would even work while pregnant with Ivo. But one day, there was this horrible accident where she was badly injured. They didn't think she'd live to give birth, but she did. However, she died while giving birth to Ivo. He was born shaped like an egg because of the accident."

"Oh… That's so sad…" I had no idea Eggman's past was really that bad.

"Sorry for yelling… It's just that I get so mad when people make fun of him."

"I wasn't making fun of him though… it just sort of slipped out…" Maria gave me an effort-filled smile.

"It's ok. Just try not to do that again, ok?"

XX

**Ok, that update wasn't as quick as I'd hoped… still not as long as before though! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	8. Everything's Going to get Better

**Yay! Quicker update! I might as well take the time to tell… certain people whose pennames I won't mention… if you don't like this story, DON'T READ! Now, SURE, I know this story is the crappiest of all three I've written so far in this series and Past and Present (Sonic Heroes) totally pwns this. Ok, SURE, Shadow is a bit OOC… HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THAT! HE'S NEWBORN… in a lab experiment sort of way… and still like a wild animal! So DON'T send me a review like, "This whole idea is stupid and cliché." or "Shadow is OOC." Cause I do recall saying that THIS WHOLE SERIES WAS GOING TO BE CLICHÉ!! So yeah… my rant is over. Now you can enjoy your not-so-long awaited chapter.**

XX

I had no idea how long Ivo was going to stay, but it was nice having him here. Who knew Dr. Eggman could be so nice? Maria was always like a big sister to him. She would scold him whenever he did something wrong and praise him whenever he did something good. He was almost like the mother he never had… _almost_. As for Shadow, that problem was soon taken care of. Maria and I sat playing with the Biolizard one day when Professor Gerald walked up to us, Shadow following him somewhat reluctantly. "Shadow has something to say," he told us. We both looked down at him expectantly.

"I'm sorry I tried to kill you," he muttered, his teeth clenched. Maria was quick to forgive him.

"Aw, that's ok!" she told him as she hugged him. "I'm sure you didn't mean too." I smiled at him, but I got a glare from him instead.

"I haven't forgiven you…" he told me, each word dripping with venom. "…yet."

"It's ok," I told him.

"Yay!" Maria cheered. "Things are going to get so much better with you around!" It felt like I was slapped in the face with reality. I knew it wasn't true. In who knows how long, Maria was going to be killed, Shadow would be sent down to Earth in a pod, and Professor Gerald would go completely insane. I turned on my heel to walk away. For the first time since I got sucked in, I wanted to be alone. "Where are you going, Keiko?" Maria asked.

"Uh… bathroom…" I lied quickly. Maria sighed in exasperation.

"Fine, but hurry!" I forced a smile.

"Ok…" I strolled around the ARK, hoping everything would be all right. I could try to save Maria, but that would ruin _everything_. I didn't even want to think about what would happen if I saved Maria and the balance between the video game and the real world was disrupted. What was I going to do? I didn't see where I was going, as I ran into someone… the very last person.

"Watch where you're going!" A low, ominous voice yelled. I looked up to see the black alien king that started all my problems. "Who are you?!"

"K-Konnoe Keiko…" I told him shakily.

"Konnoe Keiko…" he repeated. "You seem… troubled… I can put you out of your misery…" If he was going to do what I thought he was going to do, there was no way I'd follow through.

"No thanks!"

"What is it that's troubling you?" I sighed. I might as well tell him. He was going to find out anyway. Besides, maybe he had a way for me to get back.

"I'm not from this time. I'm from fifty years in the future, but no one here knows that. Actually, they think I'm suffering from amnesia. I know something really bad is going to happen, but I don't know when! I know you can send people through time, so send me back to the future right now, Black Doom!" I glared at him, but his expression was blank.

"My first impression was that you were insane. Since you know my name when everyone thinks you are suffering from amnesia… it is safe to assume that you are, indeed, from the future." I sighed in relief. He actually believed me… "But come to me in…" he paused. "…three weeks time. I'll send you back then." I sighed in relief. Everything was going to be fine!

"Ok! Thanks!" Black Doom walked past me and, within a few seconds, he was gone. Who knew he would be so understanding in the past?

"Damn it all!" I suddenly heard Professor Gerald scream. He walked past me with his fists clenched.

"Is something wrong?" I asked. He stopped and sighed.

"The military wants to shut down Project Shadow!" My heart sank. I didn't have much time left!

"What?" I whispered. "Why?"

"They say he's too dangerous! If I don't reprogram him in three weeks, they will shut down this entire facility."

"But… Shadow isn't dangerous… is he?"

"He _did_ try to kill you twice."

"I know, but—"

"Nevertheless, I _will_ reprogram him! Let GUN see how magnificent Shadow can really be!" Too bad they weren't interested.

XX

**So that's the end of this chapter. The next update will be quicker! PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	9. What to Do?

**Well… I updated quicker, didn't I? Thanks for all the positive reviews! I reread and re-evaluated the previous stories and this one has to be the worst plot-wise. Root After Another (Sonic Heroes) was SO much better. Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW!!**

XX

What was I going to do? I had three weeks to save Maria _and_ get back to Black Doom so I could escape back into my original time. _How the hell was I going to do this?!_ I couldn't ask anyone for help; they'd think I was insane. The last thing I wanted was being stuck in a mental asylum while being forced to watch Maria painfully die and Shadow banging his fist against the unbreakable capsule while watching the agonizing scene. Ever since I made the deal with Black Doom, I spent more and more time alone. Maria slowly stopped coming to me for biology as she and Shadow became considerably closer. In turn, Shadow stopped glaring at me every time he saw me. Sweet little Ivo, however, would always come around to sit with me. I couldn't help but feel curious as to why he wanted to take over the world. Trying to rationalize irrational actions was useless. I remember when I was little, I would play Sonic games with my brother and constantly bombard him with questions asking why the antagonists did what they did. All he'd say was, "Who cares? They're _bad guys_. It's what they do. Do you honestly think Sega comes up with all these little reasons as to _why_ they do bad things?" And he was right… most of the time. There had to be _some_ reason why Ivo wanted to take over the world. One day, I was just sitting, staring idly out a window, when Ivo ran up to me.

"Keiko!" he called. I forced a smile.

"Hi Ivo," I replied.

"Where's Maria?"

"Probably with Shadow?"

"The kitty with long hair?" I was confused for a minute, but then I started laughing. Ivo reminded me so much of how I used to be. I always knew Sonic and Shadow were hedgehogs, but, for some reason, I always used to think that Amy was a cat.

"He's not a cat, Ivo! He's a hedgehog!"

"Oh…" I suddenly heard laughter coming from the doorway. I turned my head to see Maria and Shadow. I couldn't help smiling at how relaxed and at ease Shadow seemed to be. He and Maria were friends, and nothing seemed to be going wrong.

"Hi Keiko!" Maria greeted me. "Hi Ivo!"

"Hi!" Ivo said cheerfully. I gave an awkward wave and continued to stare at the unnaturally blue earth. "Hi Mr. Shadow-kitty!" I choked back laughter as Shadow's eyes narrowed into slits at him.

"I'm not a cat," he said curtly. "I'm a hedgehog."

"Or, he could have been a squirrel," Maria added, giggling. "Shadow the squirrel! That would have been _hilarious_! I couldn't help laughing as Shadow looked confused. Suddenly, Professor Gerald walked in on us.

"Shadow?" he called. "Are you here?" He finally spotted him. "Good. I need you to come with me, please."

Shadow gave a small, "Hn," as he followed the professor reluctantly. Ivo happily skipped off too, leaving Maria and me alone. She played with her fingers and sighed.

"Keiko?"

"Yeah?"

"You've been acting weird lately?"

"Really?" I was hoping no one would notice.

"Yeah. You always want to be alone, and you keep smiling at Shadow like… you're in love with him or something, and—"

"EW, WHERE DID YOU GET _THAT_ IDEA?!" Maria giggled.

"Kidding! I had to see how you'd react!" Her expression was suddenly serious. "But still. What's going on?"

"Nothing!"

"Keiko—"

"All right!" I sighed in defeat. I had to tell her. "GUN—you know, the military?—is going to shut this place down in three weeks if your grandfather doesn't reprogram Shadow _immediately_." I felt a knot in my throat. "I don't think it's going to end well…" Maria scoffed.

"So? That happens all the time! They've tried doing that a hundred times before, but they never succeeded! What makes you think they'll succeed now?"

"I have a feeling something bad is going to happen."

"Do you know that for sure? That something bad is going to happen? Huh? Do you?" I stared at the floor guiltily. There was no point holding it in anymore.

"Yes."

XX

**Ohhhhhhh cliffie!! I love creating cliffhangers. Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	10. Forgiven

**Well… I took pity on you loyal readers, so I'm updating quickly. Thanks for NOT REVIEWING!! Anyway, enjoy!**

XX

Maria looked like she was just slapped in the face. "What?" she gasped. I sighed and stared at the floor, deliberately avoiding her gaze.

"It's true," I told her guiltily. "I know for _sure_ that something bad is going to happen this time." For the first time, Maria seemed at a loss for words.

"But… why…? How?" I felt tears form in my eyes as I spilled out the whole story.

"I… I'm not really from this time… I'm from fifty years in the future…"

"But… how?! That's not even possible!"

"It is…" I sighed. "I was… travelling…" There was no other way to put it, "…with Shadow in the future, and… we ran into this guy named Black Doom… actually, he's an alien, but… anyway, I really want to help Shadow, but I think Black Doom wanted to prevent that, so he sent me here… fifty years into the past." Maria stared at me with her mouth hanging open… not like she could help it, really. I looked up at her nervously. "Please don't be mad…"

"Mad?" she whispered. "I'm not mad… I'm furious!" Here comes the blow… "Keiko, how could you?!"

"Maria, I—"

"How could you lie to me?! I trusted you!!"

"You'd never believe me if I told you…"

"I haven't seen _anything_ outside the ARK. I'll believe anything."

"I'm sorry…"

"Apology _not_ accepted!" And with that, she stormed off, leaving me alone. I felt guilty for not telling her before, but there was nothing I could do about it now.

--

A few days passed, and Maria hadn't said a word to me since I told her. Right now, more than anything, I was afraid that she would tell someone my secret. My fears were almost confirmed at the dinner table one day. Maria did everything she could to avoid me, and Professor Gerald suspected something. "You two haven't been speaking to each other lately," he told us. "Is something wrong?" I tossed Maria a pleading look. Her eyes flickered towards me for an instant.

"Keiko said she wouldn't help me on biology," she lied. I sighed in relief. "And yesterday, my teacher gave me a quiz, and I failed it." She glanced over at me, an apologetic look in her eyes.

"So that's it…" he mused.

"But I'm not mad anymore," Maria said. "I forgive Keiko for _not helping me on biology_."

"Thanks…" I whispered. A smile flickered across her face. She forgave me, but we still ate in silence. After dinner, she followed me into a spare lab.

"All right, Keiko," she started. "I put some thought into this and… you were right."

"About what?" I asked, confused.

"About me not believing you. I knew you couldn't say anything before because we already thought you were suffering from amnesia, but it's different now. I can see you're… not suffering from amnesia." I couldn't help laughing, and Maria smiled.

"But that just gets rid of one problem. I still have two others…"

"What are they?"

"Getting back to my own time and saving you." I might as well tell her the whole truth.

"Why would you want to save me? I don't need saving."

"Because you're going to get shot!" Maria gasped, looking rather taken aback. I sighed. "Remember how I told you that GUN was going to try and shut down the ARK if your grandfather didn't reprogram Shadow?" She nodded. "It's true. They _are_ going to try and shut down the ARK, and they'll succeed… It's going to be really bloody and violent."

"What happens?" In this case, I couldn't go with the typical, "I'll just let it unfold for you." If I had any chance at saving Maria, I had to let her in on everything _now_.

"They're mainly after Shadow, but they kill lots of other people too. You try to help him escape by sending him down to earth in a pod… but some GUN soldiers find you and try to shoot Shadow… but one of the…" I couldn't say anything else. It was only now that I realized that I was crying.

"Oh… they kill me… don't they?" I nodded, tears streaming down my face. "So that's what you meant by… saving me…" I nodded. To my surprise, Maria kept a straight face. "Anything else?"

"I told Black Doom everything that's happening—"

"Wait, isn't he the guy who sent you here?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Keiko, you idiot! Why did you tell him?!"

"He was going to find out anyway… I might as well speed up the process… anyway, he said he'd send me back in three weeks… well… now two weeks, but you get the idea."

"That's good… I guess…"

"Yeah, but GUN's coming in two weeks too…" Maria sighed. There was a long awkward silence before Maria spoke up again.

"Keiko?"

"Yeah?" She then said the last thing I expected her to say.

"Don't save me."

XX

**So yeah… I'm going to end this thing pretty soon. There's probably going to be three or four more chapters, so review while you can! PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	11. Don't Save Me

**I've been trying to figure out how to write this, so that's why it took so long to update. Enjoy!**

XX

I stared blankly at Maria. "What?" My voice sounded weak, even in my own ears.

"Don't save me," she repeated. "There's no way you can change the past."

"Yes there is!" I shot back angrily. "If I can keep you out of GUN's way long enough, we can—" She suddenly grabbed my hand.

"Keiko," she said, squeezing my hand. "_Let it go_." I felt a few tears fall as I squeezed her hand back.

"But… It's possible for you to be saved, and…" I trailed off, not knowing where I was going with this. I couldn't keep up with my thoughts. Maria gave a comforting smile.

"I know it's hard… but sometimes, you just have to accept it. Death is a way of life. Even if I _do_ survive this attack, I'll still die anyway."

"Why?"

"NIDS. Remember?" I nodded slowly as the sorry truth sank in.

"But that doesn't mean you'll die… With Shadow—"

"Shadow may have a full eternity ahead of him. I don't. I'm sorry Keiko, but—"

"No! You have to live!" She gave a sympathetic smile and shook her head.

"I'm sorry… but it's not going to happen…" I choked on a sob.

"But… it's not just for Shadow… I want you to live too…"

"Keiko, I know what you're trying to say… but it's impossible. You can't change the past. You can't change what's destined to happen."

"But—"

"Have you tried changing it before?" I was about to deny it until I remembered what happened on the ARK the first time I got sucked in.

"Yes…"

"Did you succeed?"

"No…"

"See? It's impossible."

"But there has to be some way—"

"Keiko… there isn't… You know… sometimes, you just have to let things go and get over them. It's something Grandpa's not very good at, which was why he even started Project Shadow. If you know something bad is going to happen, you should just let it happen."

"I can't…"

"Have you ever thought about _how_ you were going to take me back to the future with you? Have you even figured out how to get back yourself?"

"This guy named Black Doom already told me he would send me back… You can come with me when I go…"

"Right… how's that going to work for Shadow?" That was one thing I hadn't thought about. How was Shadow going to deal with Maria living when he knew for a fact that she's been dead for over fifty years? I answered honestly.

"I don't know…"

"Exactly."

"What do you mean?"

"This might work out just fine for you, but Shadow might not be able to deal with it. If I've been dead for over fifty years in your time, how's he going to accept me living again? He'll think I'm a ghost or something." Damn, she knew Shadow like the back of her hand.

"What should I do?" Maria smiled.

"Don't save me," she repeated. "It's for Shadow, Grandpa, and even your own good." I knew she was right, but I couldn't help crying over it. She hugged me. "You're still upset about it, aren't you?" I nodded slowly. "It's ok… It's not easy for anyone to accept the death of a close friend."

"Tell me about it…" Everything Maria said made sense. I tried saving Shadow from his presumed fate, but failed. If I tried saving Maria, I was sure to fail too. Honestly, I was thinking of shoving her out of the way of the bullet that was supposed to kill her, but if I tried doing that, something weird might happen… like me tripping before I could get anywhere near her. Maria was right. There was no point in trying to save her.

XX

**That was a shorter chapter compared to the rest. After this, I'm just going to skip to the GUN invasion. There's only going to be about three more chapters, so review while you can!**


	12. There and Back Again

**Yeahh, so I just decided to skip a couple weeks to the fun part… ARK INVASION!! Just so you know, this part will be rushed and most of you will hate me for what you are about to read. ENJOY WHILE YOU CAN!!**

XX

Two weeks just flew by. I couldn't believe it was almost time for me to return to my original time. These past two weeks, Maria and I desperately tried to avoid the topic of her death, succeeding for the most part. I also happened to get on better terms with Shadow. After a while, he stopped glaring at me every time he saw me and started ignoring me. Then, after a little small talk, we were friends… er… acquaintances. Finally, the dreadful day came. Maria and I were just sitting in a random lab in silence when a bunch of soldiers clad in black burst in, pointing guns at us. "Where's the hedgehog?!" one asked us. Maria and I froze. The soldier held the trigger. "Where is it?!" Maria was speechless.

"W-We don't know…" I answered for both of us. The soldier stared at me for a few seconds before addressing the others.

"Search the room," he ordered them. I turned back to Maria, my eyes wide.

"What do we do?" I whispered, glancing around the room to see if the soldiers were looking at us, which they weren't.

"Let's get out of here and warn Shadow," she replied before grabbing my hand and running out the door. We didn't have to search for very long; he found us. "Shadow, you have to get out of here!" Maria warned him. He tilted his head slightly in confusion.

"Why?" he asked.

"They're after you!!" I shouted. "And if they find you, they'll kill you!" Suddenly a GUN soldier came around the corner, only to find us.

"Hey!" he yelled. "They're over here!" Shadow cursed under his breath, grabbed Maria's hand, and ran like there was no tomorrow… which there wasn't. Maria quickly grabbed my hand as Shadow started running, pulling me behind her. Every few seconds, I would turn around, only to see GUN soldiers hot on our trail. Shadow was so fast… how could they even keep up?!

"Oh my god…" Maria whispered. "Grandpa!! Oh no, Shadow! What if something's happened to him?! Shadow, we have to turn around!"

"We can't!" I yelled at her. "GUN soldiers at six o'clock!" She turned back and saw what I had been seeing for what felt like eternity. I don't know exactly how long we ran; we were probably running only for a few minutes, even though it felt like forever. All I know is that the number of GUN soldiers increased and our hopes of survival decreased… at least my hopes of Maria's survival did. Suddenly, Maria released my hand. I grasped the air desperately, hoping she would grab it again, but I knew it was no use. She and Shadow were long gone. Before I knew it, something covered my mouth as I was pulled against my will into a random room. I saw the last person I expected to see in this whole invasion: Black Doom. "You…" was all I managed to get out.

"It is time for you to return to your original time," he whispered.

"What?! No! Not now! I still have to—"

"I do recall promising you I would send you back in three weeks. It has been exactly three weeks and… well… promises must be kept." He raised his arm.

"No!!" But it was too late. With a flash of light, everything went black, and I was gone.

--

"Is the fortune-teller girl going to be ok?"

"Find the computer room!"

"Both of you, shut up, I think she's coming around." I slowly opened my eyes. My vision was blurry, but I could clearly make out something green, purple, and yellow.

"Ugh…" I groaned. "All of you… shut up…" I slowly sat up, rubbed my eyes, and looked around. Everything was dark and empty except for an anthropomorphic chameleon, bee, and crocodile. "What are you doing here?" The crocodile pulled out a tape.

"We wanted to play this to Shadow," he said. "See? It even has his name on it!" Sure enough, "Shadow" was written messily on a piece of masking tape. I recognized the messy handwriting as Professor Gerald's.

"What? How did you find it?" Silence. "Vector, if you don't tell me, I'll…" I trailed off.

"You'll what?" he shot back.

"You didn't steal that, did you?"

"No! Of course not! Besides, detectives don't steal!" He began tossing the tape up and down. "I just happened to be on the ARK when I stubbed my toe on something. My toe hurt a lot, so I wanted to see what it was and I found _this_." I stared blankly at him.

"Interesting."

"YEAHH SHADOW, KICK HIS BUTT!" the bee suddenly screamed.

"Pipe down Charmy!" Vector yelled. Charmy was whooping and cheering while staring out the window. I ran to the window and saw a small golden dot and a large red and black… thing. The chameleon sighed.

"You two are so immature," he mumbled.

"SHUT UP ESPIO!" Charmy and Vector yelled simultaneously. So Shadow was kicking Black Doom's butt and the ARK was completely empty except for the Chaotix. I was back for sure. I started walking out the door.

"Where are you going?" Espio asked.

"Just going for a walk…" I replied gloomily. I felt tears well up in my eyes.

"Don't get lost." As if he really cared.

"Believe me…" I tried to keep my voice from wavering, but I think I failed. "I won't…"

XX

**So here's the penultimate chapter. I know most of you will hate me for killing Maria, but, believe me, I have my reasons. Sorry for the long wait and PLEASE REVIEW!!**


	13. When All is Said and Done

**Wow. I've been dragging my butt on this story. Seriously, it took me like a year to finish O.O So I'm thinking I'll write all the chapters in advance for the next one (Sonic '06) and update once a week, so you don't have indefinitely long periods of NO SHOW. What do you think? Anyway, BACK TO THIS FIC!! It's been so long, I can't believe this is finally over. I really hated this fic and I think my attempt at giving Keiko a softer side the whole time epically failed. Enjoy the end… I hope…**

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I couldn't believe this was over. I couldn't believe I blew my chance to save Maria… Now that I think back on it, I guess I wasn't trying to save her for Shadow… In the end, I wanted to save her for _me_. I felt like I wasted a whole month on the ARK when I could have been helping Shadow instead… since this might be the last game I ever get sucked into. I knew I was going to miss everyone, but _come on_. These are _video game characters_ we're talking about! They're part of Sega's imagination… not real people. But they seemed real… They _were_ real… because I knew my encounters with each of the characters weren't just some crazy dream. Shadow, Maria, Rouge, Omega, Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, Tails, Eggman, and even Black Doom: technically virtual friends I made through playing a video game I once hated. It was times like these when I wished I could talk to someone about all of this. I wanted to tell someone _everything_ that happened… someone from my world… but they'd never believe me. Not even my brother, who I trusted more than anyone in both Shadow's and my world.

I walked around the ARK like a zombie, not really feeling or thinking anything. I was snapped out of this when I stubbed my toe on something… a video cassette… with my name written neatly on it. I picked it up and carefully examined it. It was old and dusty, so maybe someone left it behind when the ARK was shut down fifty years ago. Only one way to find out. I walked into a random lab and placed the cassette in the video player. The screen kept flickering, but I could clearly make out the black and white figure of someone… a new friend I had made when I got sucked into this video game: Maria. She smiled and waved awkwardly. "Hi, Keiko…" I couldn't believe I was doing this, but I waved back. "I bet you're wondering why Black Doom sent you back before… before it happened. Well… I just wanted to say… I know why. It was me. I asked him to send you back a little early because I knew you wouldn't just let me die, even though that's what's supposed to happen." She smiled gently. "I know you too well. Now you probably think you just wasted your time up here, but… that may not be true. If…" She paused, as if struggling to put her thoughts into words. "If something happened in your time… something really absurd that you couldn't explain… maybe it relates to your experience here on the ARK. And well… that's all I have to say. Bye Keiko." The screen went black and she was gone. I sighed and tried following her advice. What happened that could have been justified by things that happened on the ARK? The Biolizard was the first thing that came to my mind. At the time, I thought it had mistaken me for Maria, when it still recognized me from fifty years ago. Then there was Ivo… er… Dr. Eggman… why he spared my life when he had at least a hundred chances to kill me. But I was forgetting the most important one: Shadow. Shadow had saved my life countless number of times for supposedly unknown reasons. Had he remembered me too? I didn't have time to answer my own question, because…

"Keiko?" I whirled around, only to see Shadow standing at the door. "What are you doing here? Where the hell were you?" I stared at the floor.

"Um…" I mumbled. "Right… here?" He tapped his foot.

"I came here enough number times, and I never saw you."

"Well… actually… Black Doom sent me fifty years into the past… he sent me _here_." Shadow frowned, but not at me. After a few minutes, he finally responded.

"Oh… I remember… I think…" I couldn't help smiling at that.

"Shadow… I'm sorry… I tried to save Maria to make things easier for you, but—"

"It's fine…" The two of us sat in silence. I was the one to break it.

"So how was it?" He looked up at me.

"How was what?"

"Everything. Listening to everyone and trying to solve everyone's problems.

"It was… frustrating…" I scoffed.

"That's got to be the understatement of the century."

"Yeah…" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a strange, yet familiar green light. "You have to go now." I stared at the floor.

"Um… Shadow… I'm not sure if I'm coming back…" Surprisingly, he took it quite well.

"Oh… well… it's been nice knowing you." I laughed.

"Thanks… you too…" Then I hugged him. I really don't know why, but I did. When I released him, I started walking towards the green light. "Bye Shadow." I gave an awkward wave as I stepped into the green light. Within a few seconds, I fell back in Haru's room. The thing was… the tape Maria recorded of herself was still in my hand. I wanted to take it with me. I knew there was no way I was ever going to forget this, but I still wanted a keepsake of it, and this video was perfect. I walked over to my room and placed it at the bottom of my sock drawer. Maybe someday, when I'm older, I'll find it again, and remember everything… well, at least I wasn't suffering from amnesia like Shadow…

XX

**Ok that last chapter was REALLY short… I know it's usually a lot longer, but there wasn't much to say in this. Soooo… ya. Next time, there's Sonic Next Gen! And a new character will be introduced! **

**THANKS FOR READING!!**


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